A boy’s search for harmony in the world

Like troubled, dream-filled sleep, there’s a delightfully mysterious quality to Grace Lin’s new novel, Starry River of the Sky. More a companion than a sequel to her Newbery Honor novel Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, this is a meditation on home, forgiveness and what it means to be in balance in the world. These are not easy ideas for anyone, but Lin invites young readers to...

Twins double the fun for new readers

It’s a good day for new readers when Grace Lin decides to write a book especially for them. And in Ling & Ting we have a story with details that new readers will love—twins, chapters, sunny illustrations and funny, realistic situations.Twins Ling and Ting look exactly alike until a wiggling Ting causes a sneeze that makes the barber slip with his scissors. Now, people can...

Where troubles melt like lemondrops

According to my records, I have read The Wizard of Oz 17 times. That’s a conservative estimate and doesn’t count the number of times I heard the book read aloud when I was a child. I have defended L. Frank Baum’s work from detractors who find it didactic or flat, and I have watched the eyes of more than 300 second-graders as they absorb the story of Dorothy and her adventures....